Senate Votes 52-47 Against Three-Year Extension of Section 702 Surveillance Authority

U.S. Senate voted 52-47 on Friday against opening debate on a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Seven Republicans joined 45 Democrats in opposing the procedural motion that required only a simple majority to advance.

Section 702 authorizes spy agencies to collect vast amounts of foreign communications intercepted over the internet without a court order. m. on June 12 unless Congress acts.

Democrats blocked the reauthorization to protest President Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence. ” The seven Republicans who voted against advancing the extension were Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt, John Kennedy, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Rick Scott, and Tommy Tuberville. Sen.

John Fetterman was the only Democrat to support advancing the measure. Pulte, 38, is from Florida. He has served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency since March 2025 and concurrently as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

He pushed for the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities and issued criminal referrals calling on the Justice Department to prosecute various Democrats, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, for mortgage fraud. In March he sought charges against James for allegedly lying on mortgage insurance forms. President Trump said of Pulte: “He’s very smart.

He’s a person that has got high integrity. He’s done a phenomenal job at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You probably have a trillion dollars in value there. ” Outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard will vacate the position on June 30.

During Trump’s first term, Ric Grenell served as acting DNI between February and May 2020 before John Ratcliffe replaced him and now serves as CIA director. Ric Grenell had spent two years as ambassador to Germany before serving as acting DNI. Sen.

Rick Scott stated that he voted against the extension because he wants warrants required to protect constitutional liberties and the Fourth Amendment. “I’ve been surveilled by the government multiple times, along with so many other Americans. We can’t give the swamp unchecked power to spy on law-abiding Americans.

I voted against an extension because I want real REFORM and ACCOUNTABILITY, not the status quo,” he said. Edward Snowden exposed the National Security Agency’s mass collection of data in 2013.

The FISA tension may give Republican civil libertarians a better shot at introducing warrant requirements.